Braille On Our Minds

The month of January has been all about Braille at the Iowa Department for the  Blind. We helped sponsor, with the Iowa Braille School, the Iowa Braille Challenge, which took place on Saturday, Jan. 23. View photos of the challenge.
 
Thirteen students from across Iowa participated this year, and the winners were: Annabelle Costanzo (Junior Varsity), Lauren Thomson (Sophomore) and Casey Anderson (Freshman). View a listing of the standings of all the participants.
 
"I don't know how I would survive without Braille," competitor Tyler Juranek, 13,  told a reporter from the Des Moines Register, who covered the event.
 
On Monday, Jan. 25, the mayor of Des Moines, Frank Cownie, signed a proclamation declaring the week of Jan. 23 to 30, 2010 as Braille Awareness Week. To see the proclamation, click here.
"Like literacy among sighted students, Braille literacy provides full and detailed access to the written word, including spelling, punctuation and organizational structure. Children and adults with limited vision often struggle to read print when Braille can provide complete and efficient literacy," said Karen Keninger, director of the Iowa Department for the Blind and a lifelong Braille reader.
 
While many technological advancements have increased a blind person’s ability to communicate, such as software that can read what’s on a computer screen, talking cell phones and other gadgets, Braille literacy is still an important part of a blind person’s development. Beyond employment and academic success, Braille literacy is also linked with higher self-esteem and independence. According to the Braille Institute of America, only 30 percent of blind adults gain full-time employment, but 90 percent of those who beat the odds are Braille readers.
 
Braille, named after its creator, Louis Braille, uses a system of raised dots to form letters and words. These Braille dots are read with the fingertips and provide blind and visually impaired students a system of reading and writing independently.
 
“Braille literacy is overlooked in America,” said Gail Stricker, a librarian at the Iowa Department for the Blind’s library. “Technological advances have not replaced the need for blind and visually impaired children to learn to read and write.”
 
More information about the Braille code.